Hm. My mozzarella is really squishy.(and it stopped tasting like mozzarella. Or. you know It's just been so long since I've had it, I can't remember it. But is it supposed to be squishy? I should be able to cut it right?)

Can the cheese be whizzed up in the food processor, (or is there a danger of butterizing the nuts instead of making it into a creamy cheese?). I did have some issues with the agar process. I boiled the water and then added the agar and I got a nice thick gloppy gel happening but it never really mixed well with the cheese. (AND I did use some xantham gum). When you do the agar step is it supposed to get "gel-like" like you have to scrape every bit in, or is it supposed to be a liquid with a slight set? (Mine set so fast!)

(When I soaked my nuts, it was about.... 9-10 hours. so I am thinking maybe add a bit of the soaking liquid in, or should i put the rejuvalac in there first to pull the nuts down?)

(and THANK YOU in advance) :)

(Also, I don't trust myself to make yoghurt. would Nancy's plain soy yoghurt work? that's the only one I have up here that, or an Almond based one, and the coconut one).

Oops. First mistake: never boil the water before adding agar. Always add agar to cold water, stir well, and then bring to a boil. It basically congealed before you could mix it with the cheese. Be sure to bring it to a boil (use a lid if you need), and then let it boil for a couple of minutes to make sure it is really dissolved. It should not be a big gloppy gel at the time you introduce the cheese; this most likely happened because you boiled the water before adding the agar. The cheese should be sliceable but soft. Lots of pics on the internet of the mozzarella, and people are having success with it (while others are having your problem). I just posted a pic of mozzarella that my students made on FB. Do you seen how cleanly it slices when it's made right? https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

It's been 18°C here lately, so I had to ferment air-dried Cheddar for 72 hours before thickening it. Every time I tasted it while it was fermenting, twice a day, I whisked it. I remembered that it's supposed to be done when making sourdough to prevent mould growth. I'm not sure it was necessary, but, better safe than sorry.

It was very hard to stir it while thickening, I needed 4 hands, 2 to hold the pot, and 2 to stir it (with one spoon). Next time if I double the recipe, I'll thicken it divided in 2. I'm out of agar powder now. I realised it takes more than I calculated before, 45 grams for double the recipe. That's over 8 dollars just for agar powder. I hope to visit Austria soon, it might be cheaper there (there are a few Asian supermarkets).

I made the macadamia ricotta and used it in ravioli with baby spinach and the gruyere last night.

Really good! The ricotta on its own still kind of tasted like macadamias after the culturing time, but it was so perfect in the ravioli. I loved that it had a real, light ricotta texture (I love tofu ricotta but it's too heavy to stand in for the real thing in some recipes) and didn't need a ton of seasoning like tofu ricotta often does. I have half the batch left and I'm hoping to track down some zucchini flowers to stuff with the leftovers tonight.

Miyoko, I just want to offer up an enormous thank you to you for your dedication to this thread. You've shown once again that not only do you offer up fantastic recipes, you are invested in helping people succeed with them. Especially with a cookbook as revolutionary as this one! Veganism is lucky to have you.

Yesterday, I prepared a small dinner party to celebrate the 30 year wedding anniversary of my omni/vegetarian parents. We had the fondue for our main course. It was a BIG hit. My dad, who is still a little skeptical about the taste of vegan food, kept wondering how it could taste so much like 'real cheese'. I served the fondue with bread, roasted potatoes, panfried seitan and seitan sausage, roasted fennel, onions and carrots, cherry tomatoes and white beets. It was awesome and quite easy to prepare too, since I had the seitan in the freezer anyway. Definitely doing this again sometime.

My Air Dried Parmesan is now ready. Still a little creamy in the middle but grateable and tastes fantastic. My cheddars (air dried and sharp), are one the go. I'm not completely convinced yet, the air dried (2 weeks) is nice but very 'nutty', the sharp (1.5 months old) is a bit 'footy' tasting. We shall see how they come on. I make the yoghurt roughly every two weeks.

The funny thing is that I wasn't massively into cheese as an omni, it's the geek in me- and the sourdough baker.

I'm waiting on my rejuvelac to sprout. I missed the part where rice doesn't sprout very fast, I will definitely use something like quinoa next time. Anyway, since I'm so impatient I started Miyoko's recipe for the brie from the VegNews cheese issue. It just went into the fridge, so I'm about t-minus 38 hours from cheese! It tastes sooo good, I am excited!

Julialegume holding the warm pizza, with two types of sausage crumbles, spicy red wine marinara, diced green bell pepper & pickled black japapeno ! It was really, really good. I was really into how the bites of luscious cheese stayed creamy. I thought it was tangier out of water vs. baked, and I liked that a lot, so maybe I'd culture it another day before chilling next time?

Julialegume holding the warm pizza, with two types of sausage crumbles, spicy red wine marinara, diced green bell pepper & pickled black japapeno ! It was really, really good. I was really into how the bites of luscious cheese stayed creamy. I thought it was tangier out of water vs. baked, and I liked that a lot, so maybe I'd culture it another day before chilling next time?

holy hell. dazee would cry if i made that for him.

_________________Cake Maker to the Starspakupaku"Stupid society. I'm gonna go put on bikini kill."~Susie Tofu Monster"Kittee is wise. Listen to Kittee."~Aruna--> the PPKr currently known as mumbaikar

(Also, I don't trust myself to make yoghurt. would Nancy's plain soy yoghurt work? that's the only one I have up here that, or an Almond based one, and the coconut one).

Daisy, I just by chance found Nancy's plain soy yoghurt last Saturday and thought it tastes nasty and too sweet for cheese. I was sooo happy I found it and bought two containers (not cheap). My home made yoghurt turned out way too runny to be strained every time. It is time someone made a good soy yoghurt in Canada. If the Europeans can and Wildwood could (oh why did you discontinue it), why can't it be done again?

(Also, I don't trust myself to make yoghurt. would Nancy's plain soy yoghurt work? that's the only one I have up here that, or an Almond based one, and the coconut one).

Daisy, I just by chance found Nancy's plain soy yoghurt last Saturday and thought it tastes nasty and too sweet for cheese. I was sooo happy I found it and bought two containers (not cheap). My home made yoghurt turned out way too runny to be strained every time. It is time someone made a good soy yoghurt in Canada. If the Europeans can and Wildwood could (oh why did you discontinue it), why can't it be done again?

Nancy's plain has a sweeteer in it, I wouldn't use it. I use Wildwood unsweetened plan (which I'm still buying at the New Seasons Market near my apartment, so, maybe it's an area thing?)

on the subject of yogurt, even though i've been vigilant not to let the temp go over 110 F, it still separates. it doesn't seem to be a problem as i just strain it through muslin and get something nice and thick, but i'm not sure if i could be getting better results.